Living with a complex, chronic health condition like type 1 diabetes (T1D) is complicated, expensive, and burdensome. Most people live long, happy, healthy, and satisfying lives with T1D, yet there is a large body of evidence that mental health concerns and behavioral challenges are common, and interfere with self-management, quality of life, and health. At the same time, there are not enough professionals who have knowledge of the complex interplays between diabetes and psychosocial factors to meet the needs of the large and growing population of people with T1D, and their families.
To help address this gap, the Type 1 Diabetes Mental Health Workbook was created to provide a concise, practical resource for mental health clinicians and therapists to use in their care of young people with T1D. The workbook is divided into eight sections:
Overview of T1D
Language and communication about T1D
Challenges associated with a new T1D diagnosis
Approaches to addressing T1D self-management challenges
Emotions associated with T1D
Mood concerns and T1D
T1D-related worries and anxiety
Additional considerations
Chapter 6: Mood Concerns and T1D Available to Purchase
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Published:2023
"Mood Concerns and T1D", Type 1 Diabetes Mental Health Workbook: A Practical Resource for Providing Behavioral and Mental Health Support to Young People with Type 1 Diabetes, and Their Families
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People with T1D are at increased risk of experiencing depression and distress. The healthcare professional working with children with T1D should be prepared to assess for and recommend strategies to manage these concerns.
Approximately 20% of children with T1D experience depressive symptoms, which is higher than the rate in their peers without T1D. There may be a biological link between depression and diabetes. Depressive symptoms may serve as a significant barrier to T1D self-management and are associated with multiple negative T1D health outcomes. Specific symptoms of depression, such as low mood and energy, fatigue, and lack of motivation, may interfere with one’s desire or ability to engage in self-management behaviors. Both low and high blood glucose may also cause an individual with T1D to feel unmotivated or physically unwell, potentially negatively affecting mood and interfering with engagement in T1D self-management behaviors. Because of overlap in symptom presentation, it may be difficult to distinguish the presence of a depressive disorder from depressive symptoms due to chronically high blood glucose. Mental health providers should always consider glucose values and trends when assessing, diagnosing, and treating individuals with T1D who present with depressive symptoms.
